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Shooting some Trap: Basics

The other day my wife and I took a trip to shoot some trap. It was her first time trap shooting and the day couldn’t have been better. There was no moisture, only a light wind, and a very cloudy sky. I grabbed my 12 gauge and she grabbed a 20 gauge and we headed north…to the the shooting range.

Prior to the trip we went over the basics of the gun, safety, loading, firing, sighting, etc. She knew her stuff and I was able to brush off the cobwebs with the review I had with my wife. She is such a quick and easy learner; it is always fun to do new activities with her!

The range we went to was Blackwing Shooting Center, and there was hardly a soul shooting. However there were plenty of employees milling around. At first I thought this would be great, and a good chance to take our time and enjoy this fun outing at our own pace. Too bad that wasn’t the case, but I will get to that later.

The real point of this post is to explain some basics of trap shooting and offer two important pointers!

First, what is trap shooting and where did if come from?

In the late 18th century trapshooting was introduced by releasing pigeons from traps for target practice. The sport caught on and by the early 19th century it was in the USA and most notably in Cincinnati, OH and New York. The sport went well until in the 1870s a shortage of pigeons occurred. The simple solution that emerged was to replace the pigeons with clay platters – which is what is used today.

In current competition the trap (where the clay target is launched) is located 16 yds in front of the shooter. The shooter must then hit the target with one shot.

Second, some safety considerations.

There are some simple safety considerations in trap shooting:

Keep the gun pointed down range.

Only load 2 shells max for a shot if shooting doubles, one shell is shooting single trap.

Always treat a gun as if it is loaded.

Don’t move between stations with a loaded gun.

Finally, two pointers that will help you always hit.

Keep your cheek against the guns stock. Your eye is the rear sight on a shotgun. Keep the bead of the shotgun on your target and your cheek on the stock.

Aim at the bottom of the target. If you aim small, you will miss small. You are more often to shoot over a target then under it, so aim for the bottom edge of the target – it is easier to see anyway.

Where to buy clays if you don’t have a range close by.

Let’s say you are located in an area that doesn’t have a shooting range with trap or any form of skeet. What do you do? You out fit yourself. You will need the usual eye and ear protection, but you will also need two other items that you can pick up at a local sporting goods store or on Amazon.com.

Mechanical Auto Trap – IF you are looking for something that can really get the job done, then your go to will be the Automatic Trap Launcher. Amazon has the Do-All Outdoors White Wing Automatic Trap
for $287.

One more thing:

I eluded to it earlier, but will now hit my target about our experience at Blackwing Shooting Center. While we were there we had the range master, who seemed to have nothing else to do, come out and accuse my wife and I of swinging our guns around wildly, placing our barrels in the ground, and also scold us for picking up our spent ammunition as we went along. I can assure you that none of this was going on (except picking up the spent shells). When he approached and spoke to us, we offered him the respect that I was taught to offer a range master, but sadly he was not willing to show any respect to us. This is especially true in his dealings with my wife, and this was her first time shooting. She and I both walked out of the range after shooting our two sets feeling like we were not welcome there – a feeling my wife got when we walked through the door. Needless to say, this will be the last time that we shoot at Blackwing because of the treatment we received.

Even ignoring the frustration of false allegations by the range master, the larger problem is how many other people were treated this way. I face a challenge everyday of trying to get people excited about the outdoors and activities outside of their 9-5 world. Moreover, there are certain skills that need to practiced and learned responsibly in safe places. If these safe places that are entrusted with teaching beginners and new comers the skills necessary to succeed are closed off, judgmental and hateful then there is little hope for there to be a future for outdoor activities and self-sufficiency as we know it.

I know that I am going on a bit of a tirade, but it is deserved. I am a firm believer that we should treat others as we want to be treated and I also believe in being inclusive to people who genuinely want to learn and partake. It is often our very own fear and judgmental attitudes that are causing people to not want to embrace the simple joys of life – and that has to stop!

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